‘Mobilidata’ to make traffic in Flanders smoother and safer

On Friday, the Flemish government gave the go-ahead for Mobilidata, a project that uses data to make traffic smoother, more sustainable, and safer.

A consortium led by Be-Mobile, a Belgian company specializing in distributing traffic information, is steering the project. The Flemish government is allocating €18,2 million for it.

One platform

For years, there have been plans to bundle the wealth of traffic data at the Flemish level on one platform. Through sensors on traffic lights and loops in the road surface, the Flemish government, for example, has a wealth of data.

Many drivers already use one or more traffic apps like Waze, Coyote, or the Touring Mobilis App. Each of those apps relies on info it gets from other uses of the same app. But there is much more information up for grabs.

If the apps were given access to all that info, they would make more accurate route calculations and could take better account of the current traffic situation.

Mobilidata should collect all the data and make it available to the existing applications – the intention is to extend the data with those of individual users.

By collecting and linking all information about traffic jams, road works, traffic light-controlled intersections, etc… intelligent solutions can be developed to increase traffic safety, improve traffic flow, and reduce emissions.

Open data

Mobilidata wants to realize 31 innovative technological traffic applications. Through a network of sustainable, smart, and reliable data, there is communication with the signal that your onboard computer or smartphone sends out.

A well-known example is the lights at intersections that jump to green when a fire engine or ambulance with an urgent assignment approaches the intersection. But, according to Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), it could also be a group of cyclists who are given the green light faster at an intersection in lousy weather. Or drivers who receive a signal to adjust speed during road works.

To give the search for intelligent mobility solutions the opportunities that are needed, open data are used. In this way, start-up companies or scale-ups can also develop new applications more easily.

“I was recently in Copenhagen where data are used to maximum effect to support and promote the cycling policy, an asset that we must also make greater use of in Flanders,” concludes Peeters.